


The Florist and the British Government

by fandomwhatsafandom



Series: The Florist and the British Government [1]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Eventual Romance, Florist Lestrade, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-04
Updated: 2015-02-18
Packaged: 2018-03-10 12:11:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3289895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomwhatsafandom/pseuds/fandomwhatsafandom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Florist au where Lestrade runs a flower shop and Mycroft is itchy</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> I have no beta and this hasn't been brit picked so if you see glaring mistakes let me know and I'll change them. Come by my tumblr di-greg-holmes.tumblr.com if you have questions or corrections.

Three months he'd lived in this flat, three months without a problem. After the first month he'd finally believed the woman who owned it when she told him living over a flower shop wouldn't be an issue, but here he is and he can’t stop this damned itching. It started a few days ago with some itching and now he's all red and splotchy with a rash covering most of his body. Mycroft's thoughts were interrupted by the shrill ring of his desk phone.

"Hello, Mr. Prime minister, of course, I'll have it shortly." Mycroft rang off and dashed out of his office towards the closest coffee shop. He wanted to become a politician not a coffee boy. He scowled at the bell that sounded as he walked in. Mycroft thought that having a father who occupied a seat in the house of lords would get him at least halfway to the job he had created, but the Holmes' never did anything the easy way. After leaving Oxford his parents decided he was going to make his own accomplishments with minimal help from them. Now here he was fetching coffee for the Prime Minister instead of running most of the British government like he thought he was going to. In the last four months Mycroft had gone from living at home as an intern to living in central London over a flower shop and occupying the job of assistant to the Prime Minister's PA, and he was still a few weeks behind the schedule he had drawn up before he started.

"Sir," Mycroft hadn't realized he was at the front of the line. "You've been standing here for over 2 minutes, can I get you anything?" The barista asked.

"Yes, sorry, a small black coffee extra hot." Mycroft scratched at his neck and continued to scratch until the coffee was handed to him. 20 minutes had passed since he'd left his office and it would be another 10 minutes’ walk back. He needed to work on his timing if he was going to get on the good graces of the PM and be promoted from assistant of an assistant to something with more power in the next month. After 8 minutes Mycroft reached his office startling the prime minister.

"Mr. Holmes I wasn't expecting you for another few minutes." He said as he reached for the coffee.

"I always strive to be early, sir." Mycroft answered leaving the big office and heading toward his own desk. Mycroft caught himself scratching when Kelly the PA started talking to him.

"You need a doctor?"

"No, Kelly, it is just minor skin irritation caused by a new flower introduced into the flower shop I live above. No cause for concern." Mycroft answered coolly.

"Well I came to tell you, you can leave. The PM is leaving in 20 minutes anyway." Kelly looked back at her phone.

"I think I'll stay until then." Mycroft replied.

"Whatever you want, I just thought I'd tell you."

15 minutes later Mycroft was still sitting at his desk trying to ease his boredom by going over his daily routine in his head trying to see where he could shave a few minutes off to maximize his time.

"Oh, Mr. Holmes, you're still here." The Prime Minister's words pulled Mycroft from his task.

"Of course, sir, I thought I'd stay on the off chance that I’d be needed." Mycroft was peeved. He still had another 3 minutes before the Prime Minister was supposed to leave and he had planned to be working on something when he left, not sitting there in his own head.

"Well I'm glad you're still here. Kelly was telling me you lived above a flower shop, is that correct?"

"Yes, sir, that is correct." Mycroft answered warily.

"I have a favor to ask of you. My wife has recently decided I don’t show enough affection and would like something that she could show off and say was from her husband, so before you come in, in the mornings I would appreciate it if you could pick up a bouquet or two of flowers until further notice."

"Of course, sir, that will be no problem at all."

"Oh good I had hoped that would be your answer." He said as he turned on his heel and left the office, Kelly trailing after him.

Mycroft let out a sigh and starting packing up his things, it took him 15 minutes to walk home. Luckily today was a nice day no rain in site and very little wind to he felt.

When he arrived at his building he passed the door that led directly to the stairway to his building and entered the flower shop from the front entrance.

"Hello, sir how may I help you?" said a bright voice from behind the counter.

"Hello. I need to speak with the owner please." Mycroft answered the young man. Obviously he was new, he hadn't been working here long his hands didn’t hold the slight discoloration the fertilizer in the soil left and he had called Mycroft sir instead of Mr. Holmes as the owner of the shop did.

"Unfortunately she had to leave early this morning, family emergency. She asked me to run the shop while she was away." The man answered.

"I don't mean to be rude, but do you have any experience in running a store?" Mycroft was not going to deal with an imbecile.

"Oh, well I've never owned a store or really managed one on my own, no." He answered sheepishly. Mycroft had decided that this wouldn't do. He would get up earlier in the morning and go to a different flower shop. Before he could leave the man started talking again,

"My gran used to own this place though and I worked here up until I started Uni when she sold it to the owner now. I may not have run it, but I do know the ins and outs of the businesses, so if you’re worried about things being poor quality I can assure you they won’t be." The man rushed through what he was saying so he could finish before Mycroft left.

"I'm sure you could." Mycroft answered. "But you see I have a peculiar task and I do not think you would be able to fulfill it with the limited experience you have."

"Sir, with all due respect I have more experience being florist than you probably think." He answered almost pleading Mycroft to stay.

"I'll have to see that for myself." Mycroft answered snidely.

“That flower there to your left that is a Eustoma grandiflorum, more commonly known as Lisianthus, is a hearty flower and will last 2 to 3 weeks before it wilts. That one to your right is a Gloriosa lily; it is also the national flower of Zimbabwe. That purple one directly behind you is a Hydrangea, but you should only buy those if they are to be used immediately because they will wilt very quickly.” The man behind the counter looked as though he was going to go on before Mycroft raised his hand and silenced him.

“Very well,” Mycroft started talking before the man could go on. “I live upstairs and would be passing through here around 6 am every morning. I will need a bouquet of the best flowers every morning before I leave.” Mycroft left the man behind the counter with his mouth gaping open before he spun on his heel and walked towards the stairwell leading to his apartment.


	2. The Idea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to post this yesterday sorry. I have no beta and this hasn't been brit picked so feel free to let me know of any mistakes you find.

Mycroft woke to his phone ringing from across the room. Mycroft allowed himself 20 seconds before he got up and cleared his throat before picking up the phone. “Hello, Mycroft Holmes speaking.”

“Yes, Mr. Holmes, I’m calling to remind you about the flowers.” It was Kelly. She did not sound happy to be awake at 4:30 in the morning. As it was Mycroft was unhappy about being awake 15 minutes before his normal time.

“I already have it covered. Thank you, Kelly.” Mycroft answered sounding as though he’d been awake for hours. Kelly rang off before answering him, leaving Mycroft awake 10 minutes before he needed to be.

I guess I’ll get ready now, Mycroft thought as he walked toward his bathroom. As he got ready he employed some of the time shaving ideas seeing as today would be the best day to start just in case his ideas added time.

Mycroft looked at the clock hanging above his bed only to see he’d taken 30 minutes off his regular routine he still had a fair amount of time before he was supposed to pick up the flowers and head towards his office. Mycroft was lost in thought about how he was going to turn getting flowers for the Prime Minister into a service that required returning the favor when a knock on the door startled him. Mycroft checked his watch to see that it was only 5:53 and he wasn’t expecting anyone. He slowly walked toward the door grabbing an umbrella out of the stand as it was the longest and most likely to do damage if he found himself engaged in a fight. He opened his door a crack just big enough to see out of and let confusion sink in when he saw the man from the flower shop. Mycroft opened the door wiping the confusion off his face and replacing it with mock irritation.

“Hello, I have your flowers. I would have left them downstairs for you, but we never discussed payment before you left last night.” The man said fighting down his sleepiness.

Mycroft looked at the man noting that he was not often up before 6:30 in the morning, hence the yawning, he had ink stains on his left hand, so he must still write things down instead of doing orders online like most other shops, also he had a fair bit more muscle than he seemed to have the day before, but that was irrelevant. “Yes, you can add the charges onto my rent.” Mycroft told the man before noticing that he hadn’t brought the flowers with him. Mycroft hoped he had finished the flowers already and hadn’t been waiting for what to do with the payment before he finished them.

“Well, I’m not sure I can add the charges to your rent, sir, but I’ll see what I can do. Your flowers are down in the shop where it’s a little cooler so they’ll keep longer.” The man said as he noticed Mycroft looking at his hands.

Mycroft looked at his watch noting he only had three minutes before he was supposed to leave for his office flowers in hand. Mycroft walked out into the hallway and closed his door before the man realized he was meant to lead him into the store to get his flowers. Mycroft followed the man down the stairs noting that he was also taller than he had thought when he had met him previously. He held himself with the posture of someone who was used to taking orders, but not quite military. Mycroft let himself ponder the man as until they reached the store where the man handed Mycroft a bouquet of red flowers.

“They’re red tulips,” The man told Mycroft as he handed them over. “They are meant to be given as a declaration of love; I kind of assumed that’s why you were buying the flowers.” Mycroft had stopped listening though and was inspecting the flowers making sure they were up to standard before he even entertained the idea of passing the flowers off to be given to the PM’s wife. When Mycroft looked up the man was behind the counter again and facing the back wall filling out an order form. Mycroft looked at his watch again. 6:02, dammit, two minutes late. Mycroft left the building just as the man started talking again, but Mycroft was already out the door.

“The name is Greg by the way I don’t think I caught your name.” Greg started saying when he heard the bell on the door ring. When he turned around Mycroft was nowhere in sight. Greg sighed as he went back to counting order forms and got the shop ready for Sarah the girl who worked while Greg was in training to become a cop.

Mycroft had had to nearly run to get to his office before the Prime Minister got there. Mycroft had always been there on time, but if he was early it made him look better. Mycroft sat at his desk takin deep breathes so it would look like he had been sitting there for a while when the Prime Minister walked past his desk to get to his office.

“Ah, Mr. Holmes, you’re already here.” The Prime Minister noted. “I see you got the flowers also, thank you. Now, if you could have a courier take those to my wife at work that would be best.” He walked away as soon as he was done speaking leaving no room for Mycroft to reply even if he was going to say that couldn’t complete the job he was given.

“I see you’re still scratching,” Kelly said from behind her desk. “Why don’t you buy a new flower every day until you find the one that’s been bothering you and then ask the owner of the shop to stop buying them.” He could tell Kelly was joking, but it sounded like a brilliant plan to Mycroft. He was already buying the flowers anyway and if he could stop this damned itching at the same time, well, that would just be a bonus.

Mycroft spent his day at work running errands and fantasizing about what it would be like to not be red and splotchy again. Surely it would help with getting him a more public job and it would improve his chances of charming people into doing as he wants. Mycroft often used his good looks to charm people into doing what he wanted and honestly Mycroft thinks that is how he went from inter to assistant to the prime minister in under three months, he could have done it with knowledge and building connections of course, but it would have taken him longer than it had this way.

“Mr. Holmes, I just wanted to thank you again for getting those flowers,” The Prime Minister had walked out to his desk with all of his items so he must be leaving. “My wife loved them and they were simply perfect, keep it up.”

“It was my pleasure, sir.” Mycroft could tell he impressed the Prime Minister and hoped that he could stop this act soon and finally become what he actually wanted to be.

“My wife’s favorite flower is an Apple Blossom, bring me a bouquet of those tomorrow.” With that the Prime minister patted his pockets and walked back into his office before returning and stopping in front of Mycroft’s desk again. “I’ll need those flowers earlier tomorrow as I leave at 8 for a conference. Bring them by around 5:30 and give them to Kelly. I’m off now so there is no reason for you to stay after you’ve finished emailing my itinerary to the rest of my staff.” He left Kelly walking in as he walked out.

“You can leave and I can mail the rest of the people I’ll be here until 9 if he’s here or not.” Kelly offered.

“I would never pass off my work to someone else.” Mycroft answered offended. How was he supposed to work his way through the British government if he passed off all the work to other people. He had plenty of time to do that when he was in charge.

“Whatever you want, I just thought I’d offer in case you had something to do on this fine Thursday afternoon before you have the weekend off.” Kelly answered annoyed that he would get the two days off because she would be traveling with the Prime Minister and he would not be.

Mycroft ignored her and finished emailing the itinerary. He would have to tell the florist he would need Apple Blossoms ready by 5:00 am the next morning.  Mycroft grabbed his coat and started walking back towards the flower shop. Mycroft was not used to being able to leave work so early. On a normal evening he wouldn’t leave until 8:30 or 9:00, but today he was on his way home at 4:00.

Mycroft walked into the flower shop again expecting to fine the young man behind the counter again only to find a girl behind the counter filling orders for the other customers. Mycroft walked around the store hoping to find the man somewhere amongst the flowers.

“Can I help you find anything, sir?” Mycroft heard from behind him.

“I’m looking for a young man.”

“Well aren’t we all.” The girl laughed.

Mycroft flushed when he realized what he had said. “N-no that’s not what I meant. He works here. He’s about three inches shorter than I am, has brown hair and is surprisingly muscular.” Mycroft explained quickly while the girl listened with an amused expression.

“That’ll be the man in charge, his name’s Greg he’ll be back in a couple of hours he’s at the academy training right now.” The girl informed him still looking amused.

“Thank you.” Mycroft answered quickly as he hurried out the door and up to his flat. Mycroft opened the door and stepped into his kitchen to fix himself a cup of tea and to think about why he had gotten flustered when talking about the man whose name he learned was Greg. What a bland name- Greg- Mycroft thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! The apple blossom means promise.


	3. The Test pt1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always I don't have a beta and this isn't brit picked so if you find mistakes let me know.

What a common name. Mycroft continued to think, bland name, but not a very bland life running a flower shop while in training to be a cop. He mentioned going to Uni so he must be educated so his decision to be join law enforcement must be personal suggesting he’s gone through some sort of trauma. He said his gran used to own the shop, but she sold it and he’d had crumbs from homemade cookies all over his shirt this morning with no other evidence of a significant other they must have been from his gran so she was still alive and well. He said he worked at the shop from a young age suggesting he spent most of his time with his gran, either he had a bad relationship with his parents or he was raised by a single parent working hard to bring home money which left him enough time to pick up the workings of the flower shop. Mycroft only stopped thinking when he remembered his tea. Mycroft reached for his noticing that it had gone cold while he thought about Greg the man with a bland name, but interesting life.  Mycroft dumped his tea in the sink rinsed out the cup and then looked at the clock. He still had a while before the girl in the shop said Greg would be back, but maybe he could just check to make sure he wasn’t there early while he went and ran an errand. Yes a very urgent tea errand, a tea errand that would result in Mycroft not having to make the tea.

Mycroft walked down the staircase that connected to the flower shop, instead of the one that led him to the street, hoping Greg would be there, not because he wanted to see Greg, but because he needed Apple Blossoms by 5:00 in the morning, or that’s what he kept telling himself when he walked into the flower shop and tried to explain the reason he was disappointed.

“He usually goes and gets dinner before coming back, he should get here soon.” The girl said from behind him.

“I wasn’t looking for him,” Mycroft answered coolly. “Well I was, but not for what you think, I need to talk to him about a special order that I started with him. If he comes back here before I do please inform him that I need to speak to him urgently and I’ll be at the coffee shop down the road.” Mycroft walked away before he let her answer. Mycroft walked into the closest coffee shop that sat at the table closest to the window.

Mycroft had ordered his tea a few minutes after sitting down and was enjoying a cup of tea that had been brewed perfectly when the door jingled and Mycroft looked up to see Greg walk in.

Greg walked in and looked around until he found Mycroft sitting next to the window and walked over to him. Greg dropped his bag, pulled out the chair and dropped himself into it with a smile.

“Sarah said a young man came looking for me frazzled and searching for his muscular florist for a special order.” Greg laughed.

“I was not frazzled.” Mycroft said offended.

“Sarah said you were beet red and I thought I’d come get a nice cup of coffee with my crazy flower man and see what my muscular florist abilities can do for your special order.” Greg joked.

Mycroft dropped his head to hide the flush that ran up his neck and into his face. “Funny, Greg, you’re hilarious.” Mycroft replied sarcastically.

“Oh, you did hear me this morning.” Greg looked surprised.

“Hear what?”

“This morning when you walked out I was in the middle of introducing myself.”

“Oh, no, the girl at the shop-“

“Sarah.” Greg interrupted.

“Sarah,” Mycroft corrected. “Told me your name when I came looking for you.”

“Well crazy flower man, you are terrible with names aren’t you.” Greg laughed.

“Mycroft, I would appreciate it if you stopped calling me crazy flower man and called me Mycroft and I know the names of all the people who are important anyone else doesn’t matter.”

“Should I feel special that you know my name or should I feel offended that you didn’t bother to introduce yourself until now, Mycroft?” Greg’s smile had fallen some since he sat down

“You should feel however you wish. They are not my feelings.” Mycroft answered adopting his icy demeanor once again.

“Yeah, well I came to see about that special order you needed.” Greg was still smiling, but it was smaller and more frail than the bright smile that had adorned his face when he’d found Mycroft in the coffee shop.

“Yes, I need a dozen apple blossoms and I need them by 5:00 tomorrow morning.” Mycroft watched Greg’s face fall the rest of the way.

“I don’t have apple blossoms in store right now.” Greg uttered.

“You practically begged me to let you be my florist and promised you could fulfill my flower needs.” Mycroft practically snarled.

“I’d have to go directly to a dealer and the next time he’s going to be in the area is tonight I can’t make an order now and expect to get the flowers in time for you to pick them up at 5:00.” Greg cried exasperated.

“You’ll figure out a way.” Mycroft sneered as he stood from the table and left Greg looking stricken.

Mycroft sighed as he walked back to his flat. He really needed these flowers to impress the Prime minister. Mycroft trudged up the stairs to his flat avoiding looking at the flower shop the thought making his stomach turn. He hadn’t finished his tea before he’d stormed and now all he wanted was some tea and something to eat.

Mycroft’s attention was brought back to Kelly’s joke about the flowers. Well, he thought, at least I know it’s not apple blossoms. He lounged around after heating up the leftover Tai food for dinner. Mycroft found himself nodding off to the 11:00 news after hours of reading and thinking. Mycroft stood and walked to his bedroom to start his nightly routine all the while cursing work for messing up his daily schedule and leaving him looking like a child who refused to go to bed and then fell asleep on the couch. After brushing his teeth and rubbing on his rash cream to the irritated skin Mycroft fell into bed and dropped off to sleep instantly.

A persistent banging on the door is what woke Mycroft. He shot out of bed automatically thinking he’d woken up late for school until he looked at the clock seeing that it was only 3:25 am and remembering he wasn’t in school anymore.

“Mycroft, open the bloody fucking door!” Greg yelled still pounding on the door.

Mycroft grabbed his dressing gown and flattened his hair before unlocking the door. Mycroft was greeted with an irate looking Greg, hair sticking up everywhere from his hands being run through it, rumpled clothes, and blood shot eyes.

“I have your bloody fucking Apple Blossoms and you owe me a god damn coffee.” Greg said thrusting the flowers at Mycroft.

“And why would I owe you that?” Mycroft said inspecting the bouquet looking for damage due to the Greg’s rough handling finding that they were immaculate.

“Firstly, I’ve spent eight hours trying to get you these fucking flowers; it’s the arse crack of dawn and I haven’t had sleep and won’t be getting any before I have to open the shop because I have other customers with orders they’re expecting to be done today. Secondly, you left in your little fit before you paid for your tea leaving me with your bill and the coffee shop.” Greg raged.

“I doesn’t look like you need any more caffeine and it’s not my fault you manage your time poorly.” Mycroft watched Greg deflate and slump his way down the stairs making him feel guilty. Mycroft closed the door and placed the flowers on the table closest to his door and went to get ready for work with a pit in his stomach.

Buttoning his jacket and grabbing the flowers from the table Mycroft made his way to work. He felt the knots tightening in his stomach as he walked past the front entrance to the flower shop. Looking in Mycroft could see Greg, hair flattened but still wearing the same clothes, working on orders for his other customers. He pushed away the discomfort and dragged himself to the office.

He spent his morning typing up note for the Prime Minister on current events. He only stopped when his phone starting ringing. 

“Mycroft Holmes, speaking is there anything you need sir?”

“Ah, Yes Mr. Holmes I was calling to tell you that you went beyond what I expected with these flowers. Not only were they here before I asked, but they are in amazing condition. My wife is always complaining about how beat up they all are. You must have worked hard to find these."

The Prime Minister’s compliment only made him feel even guiltier about how he treated Greg. Greg must have stopped at nothing to find these flowers for him and all Mycroft had done was insult him.

Mycroft shut down his computer and left his office, he could do that work at home right now Mycroft had some apologizing to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be in Greg's point of view just so your know. Thanks for reading.


	4. The Apology

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still no beta or someone to brit pick, but the good thing about that is that I can post faster, eh?

Greg trudged down the stairs after listening to Mycroft rant at him. He _had_ basically begged him to stay and he _had_ promised that he could fulfill his needs in a florist, but he can’t pull a miracle out of his arse and he had delivered a very good bunch of flowers to the man. Greg frowned as he opened the door to the flower shop and looked at the stack of order forms that he still had to fill before they opened in 3 and a half hours.

“That arse hole, I searched for hours for flowers that weren’t beat up I paid a fortune to get these god damn flowers and all he did was insult me.” Greg muttered to himself when he saw Mycroft walk past the front of the shop. Greg went back to counting and pruning flowers.

Greg finished filling orders minutes before he was supposed to open the store barely able to keep his eyes open and slumped into the chair behind the counter and closed his eyes just for a moment. Greg woke to the sound of the bell on the door jingling.

“Hello? I have to pick up an order for Miss Nancy.” The young boy said walking into the shop hands digging in his pockets for something.

Greg cleared his throat and blinked a few times trying to clear the sleep from his eyes before speaking to the boy. “Nancy you say?” Greg picked up the stack of forms rifling through them trying to find the name Nancy. “Two dozen white roses and half dozen pink tulips.” Greg read once he found the form.

“That sounds about right mister, how much do I owe you?” The boy asked pulling out a wad of notes.

“£ 17.05, for a good young man like yourself.” Greg said with a smile as he helped the boy count the money and handed him a bad with the flowers in it.

“Thank you, mister.” The boy yelled as he walked out the door leaving Greg alone in the shop again.

Greg dropped his head back to the desk falling asleep again only waking up when he’d hear the door ring for people picking up orders or people wandering through. Greg brewed up a cup of coffee only to fall asleep before he could finish it. Greg woke again to a shuffling noise coming from the left of his head. Greg opened his eyes with a groan thinking he’d missed the ringing of the bell on the door.

“Oh, sorry I didn’t mean to wake you, I just wanted to leave this here as an apology.” Greg heard a deep voice say from above his head. Greg sat up quickly glaring at the man standing above him.

“Yeah, Mycroft, what do you need another bouquet? Here to insult me again?” Greg questioned.

“No, as I said, I was here to apologize, but you were asleep so I thought I’d leave you this Lucozade and energy bar with an apology note, but I couldn’t find a pen.” Mycroft answered getting defensive again.

“There’s a bucket of flowers with pens attached, to my right. You can leave unless you have something else to order.” Greg answered coldly turning toward the door of the shop. Mycroft had grabbed a pen a scribbled a note onto the back of an index card, but hesitated before he turned around and left.

Greg sighed and angrily stood up and knocked the drink and energy bar into the trash before throwing himself back into his chair and growling to himself. Greg went back to lounging in the chair filling orders for the next day so he wouldn't have to stay late again that night to finish.

Greg finished putting together orders and walked the store making sure everything still looked nice before packing up his things. Greg grabbed the note card off the counter intending to rip it and throw it away. The last line caught his attention though. _When you leave the flowers make sure they are not repeated._ Greg stared at the last line unbelieving. Greg flipped over the note card took a deep breathe to dampen down the rage that grew inside before he read the note from the beginning.

_Greg,_

_I’m very sorry for my attitude this morning and last night, I am under pressure to get these flowers and if you didn't think you could do the job I’m asking then you shouldn't have promised you could. I am very grateful that you were able to get the flowers and that you got flowers that were impressively well taken care of, but I still expect flowers every morning at 6:00 am._

_MH_

_PS. When you leave flowers make sure they are not repeated._

Greg’s rage flared inside of him again only to give way to pity for Mycroft. He clearly had no experience with apologizing and that must be why he was constantly buying flowers. His girlfriend must be a real piece of work to make him get her flowers every day, Greg laughed at the thought of Mycroft being ordered around not being able to imagine it. Greg locked up the shop and walked down the street towards his own flat in a much more modest part of town. Greg was unlocking his door before he realized he hadn't gotten any flowers ready for the asshole that was Mycroft Holmes. Greg groaned before locking the door to his flat and walking back to the flower shop.

Greg had just finished a bouquet of Jasmine and Ivy when he looked up to see Mycroft standing in the doorway looking at the trashcan Greg had dumped the drink and energy bar into. “This is for you.” Greg said looking back at the flowers.

“Ah, yes, thank you.” Mycroft said not making a move towards the flowers or towards Greg.

“Yeah, no problem I’ll just leave it here for you to grab in the morning.” Greg walked to the door and left the flower shop for the second time that night to walk back to his flat.

Greg kept thinking about Mycroft, that man has got himself a real piece of work for a girlfriend. _He deserves her,_ a small part of Greg thought. He quickly quieted that train of thought. He may be a real arse, but he exudes confidence when he gives orders and Greg found that impressive and maybe a little bit attractive. _He’s a bastard_ , the angry part of him said. Greg climbed the stairs to his flat and finally was able to sleep in his own bed.

For two weeks Greg would set up Mycroft’s flowers before he left for the night and waited until he knew Mycroft had left before going into the shop in the mornings. The only time he would see Mycroft was if he needed to change the pick-up time or to tell him a certain flower he wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Next chapter is back to Mycroft's point of view.


	5. The Reason

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still not beta'd or Brit picked.

Mycroft walked down to the flower shop for the third day in a row to find it empty of all people. He sighed and picked up his flowers from the counter and left a small tip on the counter addressed to Greg for his work. Mycroft left the shop and walked down the street towards his office all the while smelling the flowers and trying to see if they caused him to have a reaction similar to the skin irritation that has been plaguing him for the last week. When he arrived at the office he recorded the results onto a sticky note that he would later add to the chart he had set up on his refrigerator to compare his different reactions to see if any of those flowers were the ones causing the rash.

Mycroft went through work in his usual way and then left for the night when the Prime Minister dismissed him and 7:00 because he was unneeded for the rest of the day. Mycroft walked home passing the flower shop. He looked in the window only seeing the side of Greg’s face while he stood and the counter chatting with a woman Mycroft had seen there many times. Mycroft sighed and walked up the stairs to his flat and added the sticky note to his chart of flowers.

Mycroft looked over his chart to start making comparisons now that he had multiple flowers too look at.

Red Tulips: No noticeable reactions, but only thought to write them down later, need more testing.

Apple Blossoms: Not in the store at the time, but caused no reaction, not plausible.

Jasmine: Slight change in sinus pressure, but no skin irritation, not likely.

Ivy: Used to grow all over the grounds of the manor, not possible.

Roses: Mother many types of roses when I was a child, no reaction.

Carnations: Too common to be the cause, no reaction.

Matsumoto Asters: No noticeable reaction, remember to get Mummy these for her birthday, not likely.

Asiatic Lilies: Slight nose running, but nothing unmanageable, not likely.

Mycroft leaned against the kitchen counter and grabbed a mug to make tea. He found himself scratching again when his tea was ready and placed one hand behind his back on one held onto the mug.

Mycroft’s days started to blur together with the same routine every day; wake up, get ready, get flowers, go to work, review flower chart. Every day for two weeks he didn’t see more than a glimpse of Greg except for one day when he had to request an earlier drop off time and then it was only a brief conversation that had consisted up mumbled on Greg’s part and the request on Mycroft’s.

Mycroft looked at his list and the end of the two weeks hoping he would find the culprit for his splotchy skin. He skipped over the first few having memorized his reaction to those and looked at the list.

Daisy: No noticeable reaction, not plausible

Button spray chrysanthemums: No noticeable reaction, get Mummy for birthday, not likely

Monte Cassino Asters: Still no reaction to Aster flowers, not aster flowers.

Limonium: Slight tickling in throat, could be caused by inhalation on flower petal, not likely, needs more testing.

Alstroemeria: No noticeable reaction, not likely.

Bupleurum: Made nose tickle, not likely.

Oregonia: No reaction, this is becoming tedious.

Red miniature Gerberas: No reaction, not plausible.

Purple Statice: No noticeable reaction, not likely.

Salal: No reaction.

Fern: Roommate in Uni owned fern, no reaction, unlikely.

Mycroft was getting tired of this experiment. It had become tedious and the Prime Minister was not expressing his gratitude like he had at the beginning. Mycroft threw himself down onto his couch and help his hands to stop himself from itching. The rash was not getting better, but it also wasn’t getting worse, so that was good at least. Mycroft was going to tell the Prime Minister that he couldn’t provide flowers anymore if this went on for much longer. Mycroft lay on the couch in silence with his arms pinned under his back for nearly twenty minutes before he heard a knock on the door.

Mycroft’s sat up and looked at the door over the back of his couch. He wasn’t expecting visitors and he hadn’t ordered food yet, so he wasn’t sure who was at his door. Mycroft stood and walked slowly to the door grabbing an umbrella out of the stand to use as a weapon if needed.

“Mycroft I know you’re home I saw you walk by the front door.” Greg said through the door.

Mycroft startled at the voice, but easily settled when he realized it was Greg. Mycroft opened the door. “Hello, Gregory.” Mycroft was sticking to the formal setting Greg had provided when he stopped talking to Mycroft.”

“Hah, Gregory, my mum didn’t even call me Gregory, although she never really called me anything for that matter.” Greg started with a laugh that quickly fell into a frown by the end of the sentence.

“Yes, well, what are you here for?” Mycroft changed the subject quickly. He’d rather see Greg smile than see him upset.

“Oh, right,” Greg pulled himself from his head. “I was just coming to tell you that I don’t have any flowers that you haven’t already bought in store right now, so I’ll have to repeat until Thursday and then I think I only have four flowers that you haven’t already gotten.” Greg finished speaking and looked down at his shoes expecting to b yelled at again.

“It must be one of those ones.” Mycroft muttered.

“One of what? What?” Greg looked up confused.

“It must be one of those flowers doing it.” Mycroft answered cryptically.

“Doing what?” Greg asked even more confused.

“In the last month you introduced a new flower into the shop, a flower that I seem to be allergic to. I was already buying flowers and I thought since I was already buying them then it would be the perfect time to figure out which one was causing the reaction and so I’ve been trying to figure out which flower it is and then I was going to ask if you could stop using the flower in the shop in hopes that I could stop this damned itching.” Mycroft rambled at Greg.

Greg looked up with a look on his face that Mycroft couldn’t identify until Greg started laughing. “You’ve been testing the flowers I was giving you? Why didn’t you just ask what flowers I’d introduced to the shop? You would have just gone to an allergist and learned what it was you were allergic to.” Greg was doubled over laughing as he spoke leaving Mycroft to look sheepishly at the wall behind Greg. “Okay, Okay, I’m good now.” Greg said wiping the tears of mirth off his face.

“Are you? Thank you for laughing at my expense.”

“Oh come one. You just told me that you’ve been buying flowers because you wanted to figure out which one you were allergic too when there are plenty of easier and less expensive ways to figure it out.” Greg said still laughing.

“I was not only buying them to see if I was allergic I was buying them before I got the idea.” Mycroft answered defensively.

“Your girlfriend is going to be pissed that you aren’t getting her new flowers then.”

“Girlfriend?” Mycroft looked terrified at the thought.

“Yeah that’s who you were buying the flowers for in the first place, right?” Greg said sobering up.

“Not really my area, I don’t play for that team. I was buying them for the Prime Minister.” Mycroft forced out.

“The Prime Minister, you buy flowers for the Prime Minister?” Greg said incredulously as he started laughing again.

“Not like that! He asked me to buy them for his wife and it was convenient that I lived over a flower shop. I was not trying to get the Prime Minister to date me.” Mycroft spoke quickly over Greg’s laughter.

“Mycroft, seriously I figured that’s what the answer would be but the way you added not playing for that team really threw me for a loop.” Greg answered after he finished his second fit of laughter. “Ok, but truly I can’t give you any new flowers until Thursday do you want me to repeat some flowers in different combinations or would you like to just stop the flowers until then?”

“Repeating will be fine for now; I’ll talk to the Prime Minister about it tomorrow.” Mycroft answered looking at Greg. Mycroft liked Greg when he was happy and smiling. He and Greg had found themselves Staring at each other before Greg broke the silence with a cough.

“So, I’ll just go and get those flowers ready for you and I’ll be sure to tell you when I get the shipment in so you can go rub yourself with them to see if you get all itchy.” Greg said with a laugh.

“I do not rub myself with them.” Mycroft answered in a mock angry tone.

“Of course you don’t.” Greg called as he turned and walked back towards to shop.

Mycroft closed the door when he couldn’t see Greg on the stairs anymore. Greg didn’t seem to be angry with Mycroft anymore and he felt a weight lift of his chest that he hadn’t realized was there.

When Mycroft was ready for sleep he easily sunk into his bed and fell asleep quickly and dreamed about how many people he would be able to charm when he wasn’t red and splotchy. His dreams morphed into how he would be able to charm Greg when he was done with this whole flower business and able to treat Greg like a friend and less like an employee. Mycroft sighed in his sleep and quickly fell deeper into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be the end of this story, but I will end up adding to this universe again I just feel like this story has filled it's purpose. Let me know what you think and I'll see if I can add more. Thank you for reading.


	6. The Flower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter for this little story. Still Not beta'd or Brit picked so sorry for any mistakes you may come across.

Mycroft woke the next morning feeling relaxed and ready for the day. He zipped through his morning routine and ended up being ready 15 minutes early. Mycroft smiled as he thought about picking up his flowers from Greg. He was positive Greg would be there today, He might not be there yet, but he would be there before Mycroft came to pick them up. Mycroft hadn’t known how much not seeing Greg had taken a toll on him until he knew he would see him again. This confused Mycroft; he wasn’t quite sure why he felt so close to Greg when he barely knew him. Mycroft pulled himself from his thoughts and walked down to the flower shop.

“Hey, Mycroft, I’ve got you’re flowers right here. I thought since they were a repeat I’d add some extra frill.” Greg said with a laugh.

“Yes, thank you, Greg. It’s good to see you here in the shop again.” Mycroft answered with a shy smile. Greg just smiled at Mycroft and handed over the flowers.

“Bye Mycroft.”

Mycroft left with a small wave and headed towards the office. When he got there he walked straight to the Prime Minister’s desk and waited for his attention to be in him.

“Mr. Holmes, Is there something you need?” The man asked.

“I just wanted to tell you that my florist has run out of new flowers to give you. His supply won’t come in until later this week and even then he only has a few flowers that we haven’t already received. He offered to make more bouquets with different combinations of the flowers we’ve already used, but I said I’d have to run it by you first.” Mycroft answered smugly.

“Oh, well thank you for telling me. Repeats will be fine until the new supply comes in and then once we run out we’ll just cease the flower buying. Honestly, my house is starting to look like a jungle.” The prime minister laughed.

“Yes, sir, I can only imagine.” Mycroft gave a polite smile.

“I really owe you a favor.” The Prime Minister thanked.

Mycroft went back to his desk with a smug smile and started on his work for the day.

Mycroft had just gotten home from the office on Thursday when Greg came bounding up to him on the stairs.

“I got the flowers.” Greg said with trying to hide his smile.

“Is this your way of saying you want to know which flower I’m allergic to also?” Mycroft said noting the smile.

Greg’s smile broke through then and he nodded sheepishly.

“Alright, let me just grab something from my flat and I’ll be back down in a few moments.” Mycroft said chuckling and Greg’s enthusiasm.

Mycroft walked through the door to his flat and changed quickly into a pair of kakis and a maroon button down before grabbing his chart of sticky notes off the fridge and carried them down to the flower shop.

Mycroft stood in the doorway between the flower shop and the stairs until Greg finished up with a customer only walking towards the counter when the man there had paid and left. Mycroft let Greg finish up the order form and started to reorganize his sticky note chart.

“You put a lot of work into that little chart, didn’t you?” Greg asked when he finally looked over to see what Mycroft was doing.

“Well I was trying to see which flower was causing this infernal itching so yes, I did put quite a bit of effort into it.” Mycroft answered truthfully.

“Okay well let me go get the flowers you haven’t already tested, yeah?” Greg asked finally looking up at Mycroft.

“I’ll finish setting up my chart.” Mycroft said as he looked up from his chart to see Greg staring. “Greg? The flowers?” Mycroft said starting Greg.

“Right, yes the flowers. I’ll be right back.” Greg stuttered. “Nice shirt by the way.” Greg yelled back as he walked around the store picking up the flowers Mycroft had yet to test.

Greg walked back to the desk with the four flowers that Mycroft had yet to receive. “Alright, first flower is Chrysanthemum.” Greg handed the flower to Mycroft.

Mycroft grabbed the flower and ran the petals through his fingers, smelled it and picked at the stem and leaves. “No, not this one, no immediate reaction.” Mycroft explained.

“Okay, second flower is baby’s breath.” Greg handed Mycroft the flowers and watched him do the same routine with these flowers as he had with the others.

“No, no reaction, although they do smell delicious.” Mycroft conceded.

Greg smiled and handed him the third flower. “Third flower is a sunflower.”

Mycroft took the large yellow flower from Greg’s hands and immediately he felt his throat become itchy and his hands and face started to turn red and become sensitive. Mycroft set the flower on the desk and reached into his pocket grabbing for the tube of cream he had to reduce the itch he was starting to feel all over his body.

“I take it that the sunflowers are the problem then.” Greg said taking the flower and setting it farther away from Mycroft. “Well that’s a good thing then, the owner decided that we weren’t selling enough and they were taking up to much space. This was my last batch.” Greg explained while trying to move the flower further away from Mycroft without leaving the counter.

Mycroft cleared his throat and smiled as he watched Greg attempt to move the flower. “Well I am lucky then.”

“Well now that that’s sorted I think you should go back to your normal self in a week or two.” Greg winked.

“Yes, yes of course.” Mycroft stuttered feeling his face heat up. “Well I must be going. I have to finish up some work.” Mycroft said trying to hurry up the stairs.

“Hey, Mycroft?” Greg called after him in a cheery tone.

“Yes, Greg?” Mycroft turned to look at him.

“You want to go to dinner tomorrow night?” Greg asked looking Mycroft straight in the eye.

“I’d love to.” Mycroft smiled and turned back towards the stairs leaving Greg to his celebratory dance behind the counter of the flower shop.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this story. I will be adding more to this universe at some point, most likely on Monday.


End file.
